AJC Welcomes Release of Ilan Grapel

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Oct 27, 2011, 01:48 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomes the release of Ilan Grapel, who had been held in an Egyptian jail since mid-June.

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"We are relieved to see this young American-Israeli man safe, sound and free," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "While we deeply regret the circumstances that initially led to his arrest on false charges, we are pleased that Egypt and Israel were able to work together to find a solution leading to his release."

Egypt accused Grapel, who speaks Arabic and had gone to Cairo for the summer from Emory University School of Law, where he is a student, of being an Israeli agent seeking to undermine the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Unlike Gilad Shalit, who had been held incommunicado in Gaza by Hamas for more than five years until his exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners last week, Grapel was allowed visitors and more humane conditions.

In exchange for Grapel, Israel is freeing 25 Egyptian prisoners, mostly smugglers.

"From the day of Ilan's arrest, AJC was active in the case," said Harris. "We knew him well because he had been an AJC Goldman Fellow in 2009, assigned to a summer stint with our Melbourne-based partner organization, AIJAC. Our Washington office was in close contact with American and Egyptian officials throughout Ilan's ordeal, as well as with his friends and family."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee